Lewis a



L. A. FOOTE.

(No Model.)

SEAL.

N0. 424,772. Patented Apr. 1, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEXVIS A. FOOTE, OF LANSING, MINNESOTA.

8 EA L SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 424,772, dated April 1, 1890.

Application filed December 2, 1889. Serial No. 332,236. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEwIs A. Focus, of Lansing, in the county of Mower, and in the State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seals for Use on Railroad-Cars and Analogous Purposes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to seals for use on railroad-cars and analogous purposes; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction, as will be fully set forth hereinafter and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View, partly broken away, of my improved shackle. Fig. 2 is a like view of my present sealing-rivet. Fig. 3 is a perspective view, partially broken away, of my shackle with the sealing-rivet in place, showing the opposite side of the shackle from that shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan view of my complete device after it has been scaled, and Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

A represents the shackle, preferably made of thin sheet metal, folded so as to bring the ends practically together, said ends having registering countersinks a a stamped in them, centrally provided with registering perforations 17 b.

B is the sealing-rivet, of any suitable material-such as soft or hard metal or Babbitt metal, lead, or the like--and is formed with a circular flange c on the inner or under side of the head and a shank or stem d, so as to leave a space surrounding said shank cl between it and the flange c to receive the outer projecting countersink 0. on one end of the shackle A, as shown, the head of the rivet and the flange 0 completely surrounding and covering said outer countersink a. \Vhen the seal is secured in place, the end of the shank or stem (Z is upset by any suitable handpress or analogous tool, so as to fill up the depression of the countersink a on the other end of the shackle A, the appearance of this upset end of the shank (I being shown at (Z in Figs. 4 and 5.

Preferably my rivets 13 are entirely loose and independent of the shackle A prior to the described upsetting; but, if desired in any instance, the said rivet may be cast or otherwise secured fast to one end of the shackle A.

My seal possesses several advantages, the described construction of the countersinks a a not only enabling the two ends of the shackle to properly fit together without any use of a punching-tool, (the said countersinks being preferably perforated, as described,) but also presenting an obstacle to the cutting of the seal-shank by the insertion of a knife between the folded surfaces of the shackle, as said knife would come in contact with the edge of the inner countersink a,and, further, the head of this rivet cannot be cut off and the other end of the rivet pushed out or through, because in any such attempt the knife would come in contact with the edge of the outer countersink a, and the upset end (1' of the rivet cannot be cut oif and the rivet freed in that manner, because the said end is upset within or chiefly within the depressed portion of the inner countersink a, and hence approximately even with the outer surface of the shackle A on that side.-

The seal is always ready for use without any operation whatever beyond the described upsetting, which can be readily and quickly performed by an ordinary hand-press, and when once so upset the device is locked beyond the possibility of any undetected tampering therewith.

My shackles may be made and sold independently of the described sealing-rivet for use with any suitable rivet.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An improved seal consisting of a flexible shackle having registering countersinks formed in the ends thereof and a sealingrivet passed therethrough, substantially as set forth.

2. An improved seal consisting of a flexible shackle having an outward-extending countersink formed in one end and an inward-extending countersink formed in the other end and adapted to register therewith, in combination with a sealing-rivet having a flanged head surrounding said outward-extending countersink, substantially as set have hereunto set my hand, at Austin, in the forth. county of Mower and State of Minnesota, in

3. In a seal, a shackle consisting of a flexithe presence of two Witnesses. ble strip of sheet metal having registering LEWIS A. FOOTE. 5 perforated countersinks formed in the ends Witnesses:

thereof, substantially as set forth. E. J. AUSTIN,

In testimony that I claim the foregoing l LABS LARSON. 

